Stretch!

Last Monday I joined the after school dancing activity, partly because I was forced to and partly because I need the hours. This traditional Sri Lankan dancing activity is conducted by Mr. Malith and Mr. Hashan who are professional dancers. There were a lot of stretching exercises involved and some demanded co'ordination and balance. I am not the most co-ordinated, graceful person and I had a lot of fun laughing at myself. My legs hurt so much after the strenuous stretching exercises! 

The next day I joined the after school yoga activity which is also conducted by Mr. Malith. Again this demanded a lot of balance and concentration which I hope to achieve over time. I'm hoping the combined effects of the dancing and yoga will help me to firm up my muscles and be in a reasonably good shape. 

Up =)

• We had the primary movie afternoon today in the PMPR at 3.00 pm to 4.30 pm. 
• 30 kids showed up and we collected a total of Rs. 10,200. 
• The movie we showed was 'Up' a really fascinating movie about an old man and a house with balloons attached to it that flies by Pixar.

I asked the canteen to make the drinks for us and I gave them a cordial bottle this morning. I was depending on them to have empty mega bottle but unfortunately they had just got rid of the yesterday! So I salvaged two mega bottles from the recycling room which I gave to Rukshan to wash and fill with the drink. I spoke to Rukshan and he gave us 30 packets of popcorn for Rs. 25 each.

We have noticed that the clothes lines at the hospital are not enough and the mothers tend to hang their washing out on bushes and railings. Most of these clothes end up on the ground raising hygienic concerns. I spoke to Mr. Kolitha and got 4 wooden poles and nylon rope along with a mason's spade, a crowbar and some cement reasy to take to the hospital last evening. But unfortunately we couldn't set the lines up without permission from the director, Dr. (Mrs.) Yoganathan. I sent her a letter asking permission today and I hope she gets back to us soon. In the letter I also asked to meet her next Thursday if possible.

The Crucible

'The Crucible' by Aurthur Miller was a production by the Visual Art and English Department of OSC directed by Ms. Abeywardena. It is a play about the hysteria whipped up by the witch hunts in Salem, Massachusetts. The play is set in a Puritan society where social norms almost constrict the people. Abigail, a young girl enraged when her clandestine affair with her employer, John Proctor, is terminated by him starts a witch hunt. Her ulterior motive is to accuse Elizabeth, Proctor's wife, and have her hung as revenge for dismissing her from her position as a maid in the Proctor household. The witch hunt is soon blown out of proportion and the whole village descends into hysteria. The play also functions as a political allegory for the hysteria created by McCarthyism in the late 1940's.

I was cast for the role of Tituba. Tituba is a black slave from the Caribbean. Though she is a minor character, she plays a key role in the play in that she knows witch craft such as conjuring spirits and communicating with the devil and introduces it to the girls.Even with my advantage as a drama student, this was an extremely challenging role for me, especially in terms of the characterization of a black slave. In addition, we choreographed a movement piece for the opening of the play. I am not the most flexible, graceful person on earth and adopting the raw physicality of Tituba was a challenge. But I managed to play Tituba quite sucessfully and I was extremely pleased with the extent to which I grew as a performer by widening my skills.

Cancer is a word, not a sentence

We organized a secondary movie afternoon today to raise funds for the Cancer Hospital. It was in the auditorium at 3.00 pm. Entrance was Rs. 250/- and brownies were sold at Rs. 50/-.

We raised approximately Rs. 5000/-.

Approximately 5 people showed up, apart from the Cancer Hospital people. I am extremely disappointed by OSC's lack of enthusiasm for ANYTHING.

To publicize the even I created a Facebook event and had the poster included in the newsletter and the daily bulletin. We put up posters around school and told a lot of people about the movie afternoon. Today during both breaks I went around telling people to come support us. Some people were nice enough to donate money even though they could not make it.

Our next project will be a joint charity concert with the Interact Club of Royal College. We are planning to have it in early September in the OSC auditorium. We also plan to have performances by local bands and performances by the students of OSC and other invited schools.


We also plan to get awareness t-shirts done and hopefully put it on sale at ODEL. A slogan I found on the internet which I think is very powerful is - Cancer is a word, not a sentence.